ANCMA-Confindustria, the Italian Association of Manufacturers of Bicycles, Motorcycles and Accessories, presented a new road safety campaign “Watch for two-wheelers” (“Occhio alle due ruote”) on 6 October 215.

This initiative aims to raise awareness of the importance of sharing the road with two-wheeled vehicles (bicycles, scooters and motorcycles), as well as to inform public debate on road safety in Italy.

To encourage car users to watch for two-wheelers, special stickers will be distributed to providers of car-sharing services and taxi drivers. The stickers will serve as a reminder of looking for bicycles, motorcycles and scooters on the road before opening car doors.

This initiative, which is part of ACEM’s road safety strategy, will involve car sharing companies in the municipality of Milan and the Metropolitan City (car2go, Enjoy, E-Go Lead me, Twist and Share'nGo) as well as the company MyTaxi.

The campaign is placed under the patronage of the Italian Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport, the government of the city of Milan and counts with the support of the Italian Foundation for two-wheelers.

Documents available to download

The 2015 ACEM report is now available in full online. The study examines in detail the state of the L-category industry in the EU and examines the importance of a wide range of European policies for the sector, including transport, road safety, industrial and international trade policies.

It also provides concrete and actionable recommendations for policy-makers and regulators at European, national and local level to reap the societal benefits of motorcycling.

Motorcycles, mopeds, tricycles and quadricycles sold in the EU comply with strict limits on tailpipe emissions and other pollution sources of the vehicle, such as evaporative emissions from the fuelling system. This has been made possible by steady progress in vehicle technology, which has helped meet progressively tighter emission standards as European rules have developed.

The implementation of European environmental standards, usually referred to as ‘Euro’ standards, is a highly technical and complex process, which involves extensive research and data analysis, and requires close cooperation between public authorities and industry.

To this end, ACEM is actively engaged in a constructive dialogue with key stakeholders including the European Commission, the European Parliament and the Council of the EU. The motorcycle industry advocates for standards that protect the environment and consumers, and are also technically attainable and economically viable.

BMW Motorrad, Honda Motor Co. Ltd. and Yamaha Motor Co. Ltd. are now collaborating to enhance Cooperative-Intelligent Transportation Systems (C-ITS) applications in powered two-wheelers (PTWs) and working together to establish a consortium named Connected Motorcycle Consortium.

According to the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), which was signed by all ACEM manufacturing members in 2014, C-ITS features will be introduced from 2020 onwards. In order to accelerate this process, the three manufacturers will begin their cooperation in the field of C-ITS now.

Promoting ITS deployment through better cooperation

The new cooperation was announced on October 6th 2015 at the ITS World Congress in Bordeaux (France), the world’s largest event for intelligent transport systems and services. The three partners also encouraged other motorcycle manufacturers to join the consortium so as to further increase safety in powered two-wheelers. “In order to speed up more motorcycle-specific safety developments, we intend to cooperate to promote a successful implementation of C-ITS in motorcycles and scooters,” says Mr Tetsuo Suzuki, Operating Officer at Honda Motor Co., Ltd..

Mr Takaaki Kimura, Chief General Manager of Technology Center and Executive Vice President and Representative Director of Yamaha Motor Co.Ltd. adds: “Our companies are already active members of the Car2Car Communication Consortium, in which we work with car and truck makers and other stakeholders on common specifications and standards. We came to realize that the specific requirements of motorcycles are beyond the scope of this consortium, however. The next logical step is to enter into a cooperation dedicated solely to the challenges relating to powered two-wheelers.”

“Our aim is to promote a timely and comprehensive use of cooperative ITS systems in powered-two wheelers offering the potential to improve safety. We therefore encourage other companies to join us,” explains Prof. Dr. Karl Viktor Schaller, Executive Vice President Development BMW Motorrad.

Antonio Perlot, ACEM Secretary General, stated: “This initiative is fully in line with the ACEM road safety strategy and shows the willingness of the motorcycle industry to increase safety for riders based on very concrete and practical developments.”

Increasing safety levels for motorcyclists

ITS technologies will contribute to motorcycle safety If well considered and properly deployed, ITS technologies offer the potential to further increase safety, security and efficiency in all transport systems, in particular for motorcycles. Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS) require the integration of information and communications technology including transport infrastructure, vehicles and users.

Basic applications currently exist in GPS navigation systems, where real-time traffic information is provided such as rerouting advice based on traffic jams ahead. For road transport in particular, interoperable networked wireless communication between vehicles can enable road users to make coordinated and informed decisions about their route as well as allowing safer manoeuvring in busy urban environments.

ITS technologies are expected to generate particular safety benefits in regard to powered two-wheelers (PTWs), not least by offering a level of electronic communication which can be shared between riders and drivers of other road vehicles. The three companies have already gained experience of connected vehicle technology in several European field tests.

Together with car makers and major suppliers, BMW Motorrad participated in the simTD project, a large scale field test carried out on connected vehicles in the greater Frankfurt area in Germany. Honda and Yamaha participated in DRIVE C2X, a Europe-wide ITS field test project. In view of the challenges experienced in these real world tests, the three manufacturers are now joining forces to evaluate the principles of cooperative intelligent transportation systems (C-ITS) to enhance motorcycle safety.

The 2015 ACEM report is now available in full online. The study examines in detail the state of the L-category industry in the EU.

It includes detailed figures on registrations of powered-two- and powered-three wheelers in EU and EFTA countries, manufacturing in the EU, and international trade, among others.

As highlighted in the report, the European market for powered-two and three-wheelers increased by 2% between 2013 and 2014. It is the first time that registrations increase since the beginning of the economic and financial crisis in 2008.

The report also examines the importance of a wide range of European policies for the sector, including transport, road safety, industrial and international trade policies.

Moreover, the ACEM 2015 report provides concrete and actionable recommendations for policy-makers and regulators at European, national and local level to reap the societal benefits of motorcycling.

Documents available to download

The European Association of Motorcycle Manufacturers, ACEM, hosted on 24 September its 11th annual conference in Brussels. The event attracted more than 130 attendees representing businesses, EU policy-makers, national administrations and stakeholders.

Keynote addresses were given by Stephan Schaller, ACEM President and BMW Motorrad President, and by Nikolaus von Peter, member of the Cabinet of the European Commissioner for Transport, Violeta Bulc.

The discussions addressed a wide range of topics including the mainstreaming of motorcycling into relevant EU policies, as well as its inclusion in national, regional and local transport plans.

The importance of balanced and well-designed European legislation for the sector was also underlined.

As part of the conference, a forward-looking session on electromobility brought together policymakers, industry and researchers.

This workshop included presentations on projects funded under the Horizon 2020 research programme and the European Green Vehicles Initiative Public Private Partnership. Panellists of this session included the coordinators of the following projects on L-category vehicles: RESOLVE (Mario Santucci - Piaggio), WEEVIL (Jon Madariaga - IK4-Tekniker), EU-LIVE (Werner Rom - Virtual Vehicle Research Centre) and ESPRIT (Valéry Cervantes - CEA).

ACEM manufacturers displayed some of their vehicles at the event. The selection included, products designed for a wide range of purposes (e.g. individual mobility, leisure, small logistics) and with different powertrains (i.e. internal combustion-, electrically and hydrogen- propelled vehicles).

Quotes from ACEM President and ACEM Secretary General

Commenting on the recent market situation of the sector ACEM President Stephan Schaller said “between 2013 and 2014 registrations of powered-two and three-wheelers increased by 2%. The first months of 2015 show the same trend. We might start seeing light at the end of the tunnel, but a supportity regulatory framework that fosters investment, jobs and growth is necessary”.

Commenting on the relaunch of the Cars 2020 process he said “ACEM has been part of the previous process and wish to continue taking part in this important forum”.

ACEM Secretary General Antonio Perlot said “Today’s discussions shows that European funded research can play a positive role in supporting industry’s innovation efforts. We look forward to continue cooperating with our partners in the EU institutions in this area”.

A total of 810,986 powered-two and three-wheelers were registered during the first seven months of 2015 in the EU. This represents an increase of 3.9% compared to the 780,585 vehicles registered during the same period of 2014.

Motorcycle registrations

Motorcycle registrations Cumulative motorcycle registrations grew by 9.6% during the first seven months of 2015 on a year-on year basis. A total of 613,711 motorcycles were registered between January and July 2015, against 559,733 during the same period of 2014. Year-on-year motorcycle registrations increased in all key European markets, namely Spain (82,194 units, +21.9%), the UK (67,349 units, +15.6%), Italy (125,062 units, +8.6%), Germany (114,191 units, +6.5%), and France (105,453 units, +1.1%).

Moped registrations

A total of 197,275 mopeds were registered during the first seven months of 2015 in the EU, whilst 220,852 mopeds had been registered during the same period of 2014. This represents a decrease of 10.7%. Registrations increased in Spain (9,437, + 9.7%), although they decreased in France (51,157 units, -9.2 %), the UK (5,297 units, -11%), Germany (18,061 units, -24.1%) and Italy (16,216 units, -14.5%).